WASHINGTON — President Trump praised Syria President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Monday after the first-ever White House visit for a Damascus head of state — days after the US and United Nations removed sanctions on the onetime al Qaeda terrorist who formerly had a $10 million bounty on his head.

The Syrian leader described his nearly two-hour-long meeting with Trump as “amazing,” during an appearance on Fox News’ “Special Report,” and revealed the commander in chief gifted him a Make America Great Again hat.  

“After the fall of the former regime, Syria has entered into a new era, and this will build on a new strategy with the United States,” Al-Sharaa said. 

Al-Sharaa, 43, strolled Pennsylvania Avenue to greet dozens of supporters following the roughly 90-minute Oval Office meeting, which was closed to the press. The group held signs calling for Congress to permanently end sanctions that the Trump administration temporarily waived earlier this year.

“He’s a very strong leader. He comes from a very tough place, and he’s a tough guy. I liked him. I get along with him,” Trump told reporters.

“We’ll do everything we can to make Syria successful, because that’s part of the Middle East. We have peace now in the Middle East.”

Trump acknowledged that al-Sharaa has a “rough past,” but said, “We’ve all had rough pasts.”

“I think, frankly, if you didn’t have a rough past, you wouldn’t have a chance,” he added.

The Syrian interim government released photos showing al-Sharaa seated in the Oval Office next to Vice President JD Vance, who served in the Iraq War while the guest of honor was planting roadside bombs there on behalf of al Qaeda.

“This is a matter of the past,” Al-Sharaa said of his previous affiliation with al Qaeda, during his appearance on Fox News. 

“We did not discuss this actively,” he added. “We talked about the present and the future.

“We talked about the investment opportunities in the future in Syria, so that Syria is no longer looked at as a security threat. It is now looked at as a geopolitical ally.”

The conversation focused on “a number of regional and international issues of common interest,” the Syrian release said.

The visit was the latest step in al-Sharaa’s dramatic image revamp from turban-wearing jihadist to US-backed head of state since his rebels defeated Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a surprise offensive last December.

Al-Sharaa was escorted through the streets of Washington by a large law enforcement motorcade and entered the West Wing through a side door after meetings with Republicans in Congress.

Al-Sharaa told Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, Sunday night that he wanted to “have a noble pursuit for his people and his country and to be a great ally to the United States of America,” the congressman said.

On Saturday, a viral video circulated on X showing al-Sharaa playing basketball with US military leaders during their recent trip to the Syrian capital, including Central Command (CENTCOM) leader Adm. Brad Cooper and anti-ISIS coalition leader Brig. Gen. Kevin Lambert.

Al-Sharaa fought US troops as a member of al Qaeda in Iraq and then founded its Nusra Front affiliate in Syria in 2012.

He was detained by American troops in 2006 for planting explosives along a road near Mosul in northern Iraq and then imprisoned for five years.

His Syrian group, which quickly emerged as one of the most ruthless forces fighting to topple Assad, was a target of US airstrikes that took out some of his deputies — though to a lesser degree than the campaign to cripple rivals ISIS, led by al-Sharaa’s former mentor Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The Nusra Front’s alleged atrocities include killing a Catholic priest in northwestern Syria in 2013 and kidnapping a group of Greek Orthodox nuns the following year along the Lebanese border.

Al-Sharaa broke with al Qaeda’s flagging global leadership in 2016 and in recent years sought to rebrand himself as a defender of Syria’s religious minorities, including Christians and Alawites — both of whom comprise more than 10% of the population — and Druze, who comprise about 3%.

Trump has repeatedly credited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with being the real power behind al-Sharaa’s victory in Syria’s long-running civil war.

Trump previously met with al-Sharaa in May during a trip to Saudi Arabia — telling the press after that encounter that he was a “young, attractive guy.”

“Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter,” Trump said at the time. “He’s got a real shot at holding it together. I spoke with President Erdogan, who is very friendly with him. He feels he’s got a shot of doing a good job. It’s a torn-up country.”